The white working class is nothing like what politicians think or claim it is | Kenan Malik

Labour MP David Winnick's reference to the white working class in 1968 marked a pivotal moment in UK politics. Today, this demographic has become central to a divisive debate, particularly regarding their unique challenges. As Joel Budd argues in his book "Underdogs," the issues facing the white working class arise more from their geographical isolation in neglectful small towns than their ethnicity. Unlike urban minority groups, they deal with low social mobility, limited resources, and educational disparities. This neglect by politicians contributes significantly to their distinctive socio-economic experiences and challenges.

For many on the right, the white working class constitutes a distinct group, both their distinctiveness and their problems, stemming largely from their whiteness.

The white working class, he argues, constitutes a distinctive group but one whose distinctiveness is explained less by ethnicity than by geography.

These are places that, despite constant chatter of levelling up, have largely been neglected by national politicians; places in which social mobility is low.

The gap between attainment levels of middle-class and working-class children is much larger for white pupils than it is for most minority groups.

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